Vacuum cleaner



w. B. OAKS 2,345,623

VACUUM CLEANER April 4, 1944.

Filed March 25 1940 -2 Sheets-Sheet 1 "Fig.3. I

INVENTOR.

(Ji lian! 3. Oaks WW v,

A'ITORNEV'YS April 4, 1944. I w, g s 2,345,623

' VACUUM CLEANER Filed March 25, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR- (JlniamD. Oaks ATT Patented Apr. 4, 1944 UNITED STATES PATEN-T'OFFiC-E' VACUUMCLEANER William B. Oaks, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Eureka VacuumCleaner Company, Detroit,

Mich, a corporation of Michigan Application March 25, 1940, Serial No.32mm 7 Claims.

,ance with conventional practice, the motor is supported in the housingwith the axis of the drive shaft extending horizontally, and this driveshaft is not only operatively connected to the fan of the blower, but isalso connected to a suitable brush rotatably mounted in the mouth of thenozzle.

As a result of the above general construction, the housing of thecleaner is usually of substan: tial height and this is objectionable infloor cleaners because it interferes with cleaning the surface beneatharticles of furniture that may be distributed over the floor surface.

With the above in view, the present invention contemplates improvingfloor cleaners of the general type previously set forth by reducing theoverall height of the cleaner to a minimum. According to this invention,the overall height of the cleaner is appreciably reduced withoutinterfering with the effective operation of the cleaner by providing aconstruction wherein the blower fan revolves in a substantiallyhorizontal plane and is of such construction as to occupy a space ofrelatively small height.

Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of afloor cleaner having an electric motor. equipped with a ring typearmature revoluble in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis andhaving means associated therewith for drawing air from the nozzlethrough the armature to the dust receptacle.

A further advantageous feature of the present invention resides in theprovision of a vacuum cleaner of the type set forth above having meansoperatively connecting the armature of the motor to the brush in thenozzle of the vacuum cleaner for rotating the brush. This'feature, aswell as the foregoing and other objects, will be made more apparent asthis description proceeds, especially when considered in connection withthe accompanying drawings, whereinl Figure 1 is a plan view of a floorcleaner having the casing removed for the sake of clearness;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the plane indicatedby the line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a floor cleaner having the top of the casingbroken away for the sake of clearness and illustrating a slightlymodified form of the invention;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the plane indicatedby the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 1and 2, it will be noted that the reference character I designates avacuum cleaner housing suitably supported on wheels I l in a manner topermit the same to be propelled over the surface to be cleaned by ahandle l2 suitably pivotally connected to the housing ID.

The housing In is preferably formed of sheet metal and is provided witha downwardly opening nozzle I3 at the forward end. In accordance withconventional practice, a revoluble brush I4 is located in the nozzle andthe opposite ends of the brush are supported in bearings l5 secured tothe adjacent side walls of the housing. The location of the brush H inthe nozzle I3 is such that the bristles on the brush engage the surfaceto be cleaned and assist in effectively cleaning the latter.

The brush it is rotated by an electric motor 1 a vertical axis in asubstantiall horizontal plane.

In the present instance, the armature windings 23 are supported cn-theperiphery of the annulus l8 and extend generally circumferentially ofthe annulus it. As a result, the axial length of the armature ii may beconsiderably reduced and this is desirable in that it renders itpossible to correspondingly reduce the height of the housing ill.

The stator l6 has a coil 25 supported in the rear portion of the casingto one side of the armature I! and has a core extending through thecoil. lng pole pieces in the form of arms 26 extendin: from oppositeends of th coil around oppo- The hub i9 is rotatably mounted on The coreis shown in Figure las havsite sides of the armature H. The innersurfaces 21 of the arms 23 are formed concentric with the outer surlaceof the revoluble armature and are positioned in close proximity totheperiphery or the armature in order to insure the necessary passage offlux between the permanent magnet and armature. It will also be observedfrom Figure 1 that the length of the arms 23 is such that these armspractically encircle the arms.- ture and this is also desirable in orderto secure. the proper electromagnetic action.

The electricmotor, selected herein for the purpose orillustration, ispreferably of the alternat-, ing current single phase type having .acommutator 23 in the form or a ring secured to the inner surface of theannulus l3. As shown in Figure 2, the individual segments of thecommutatorring 23 are secured to the inner surface of the annulus ill bymeans of a ring type clip 23 and are insulated from the clip 23 by meansofthe ring of insulating material 30. The segments of the commutatorring 28 are respectively electrically' connected to the various windingson the armature in accordance with the usual practice of winding singlephase alternating current moasssees central opening it flows downwardlthrough the armature oi the motor and is discharged radially outwardlyby the blades 33 into a. space 4'! surrounding the periphery of theblower ran. As shown in Figure l, the space 41 graduall increases incross sectional area from the point 43 to the discharge or outletopening 43. The

' outlet opening 38 is'in the form or a passage and communicatesdirectly with the dust or dirt receptacle III of the vacuum cleaner. Thereceptacle 33 may be of conventional construction and g is preferablysuspended from the handle l2 of the vacuum cleaner in accordance withthe usual practice.

tors and are successively engaged by brushes in theform oi a pair ofrollers 3|. The roller 3! are 'revolubly mounted on studs 32 secured toand insulated from a supporting plate 33. The plate 33 extendshorizontally over the top or the armature of the electric motor and isprovided with upwardly extending marginal flanges 33 secured to the topwall of the housing I. Theforward end 33 of the plate 33 is bentdownward- 1y beyond the armature ring I! and forms the rear wall of thenozzle l3.

' The hub I! of the revoluble armature i1 is connected to the annulus I3by means of a blower ran 33 having 'a bottom wall 3'I extending parallelto the base plate 22 0f the housing and formed with a centrally disposedhub 33 projecting up- From the foregoing,-it will be noted that asubstantial portion of the blower is located within the ring typearmature I! of the electric motor and is rotated as a unit with thearmature in a substantially horizontal plane. It is also pointed outabove that the armature windingsextend generally circumferentially ofthe armature and that the commutator ring 23 is housed within theconfines of the armature. It follows, therefore, that the dimension ofthe unit vertically of the housing is vrelatively small and this isespecially advantageous in portable vacuum cleaners because it permitsreducing the overall height oi the housing to a minimum. I

It has previously been stated that the brush I3 is revoluble in order toassistin cleaning the surface of the door; In the present instance, a

pulley 3| is secured to the upper end of the hub l 3 for rotationtherewith as a unit and this pulley is operatively connected to a pulley33 on the brush by means of a flexible belt 33. The flexible belt 33extends through the space 33 provided in the housing l3 above the plate33 and is sup? ported adjacent the brush by means or'an idler pulley 33.The idler pulley 56 operates in a suitwardly into the annulus [8 throughthe lower side of the latter. As shown in Figure 2, the hub 33telescopes the hub IQ of the armature and is permanently secured theretofor rotation as a unit therewith. The blower fan 33 is also providedwith a top wall H extending parallel to the bottom wall 31 and having acentrally disposed hub 32. The hub 42 also extends into the annulus i3through the bottom side of the latter andis concentrically arranged withrespect to the hub 33. The two walls or the blower are secured togetherin spaced relationship y means of a plurality of fan blades 33 extendinggenerally l'fldlully outwardly from the hub 38 and dividing the spacebetween the walls into a series able depressed portion formed in theforward end ,of the plate 33 and the opposite ends oi the pulley shaftare iournalled in bearings the opposite side walls of the depressedportion. Attention is called to the fact at this time that the pulley 3!is accessible through an opening 33 in the top wall of the housing Hi.This opening is normallyclosed by a disc type closure 33 and may alsosuflice for connecting the various at tachments in operativerelationship to the blower.

Referring now to the embodiment of the haven tion illustrated in Figures3 and 4, it will be noted that the principal diflerence between this earof air-passages. Upon further reference to Fig-' ure 2,1t willbe notedthatthe topwall ,in addition to being secured to the huh I! of the armsture by the blades 43. is also attached to a marginal flange 33extending radially inwardly from the bottom edge of the annulus l3. r 1

The upper ends of the hubs 33 and 32 project beyond the upper ends. orthe blades-.30 to forman intake opening 43 for the blower. The intakeopening 33 registers with an opening 33 in the plate 33 to establishcommunication between the space 43 confined by the plate 33 and theintake side of the blower 33.- The forward end of the space 43communicates with the interior of the nozzle l3 and, consequently. the.air supplied to the-intake side of the blower-is drawnupwardly throughthe nozzle, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 2.

v The air drawn into the blower so throughthe.

bodiment and the one previously described '3 that the housing 30' of thevacuum cleaner is formed oi cast metal sections. Asshown particularly inEig= ure 4, the housing 30 is cast in two sections, a top section 3| anda bottom section 32. The bottom section 33 forms the support for thering type armature and blower, which are also preferably formed of castmetal. The two sections are socured together by means of the fastenerelements 33 and the space 41' extending around the periphery of theblower fan is formed by the bottom section 32.

Itfwill also be noted. that in the embodiment of the invention shown inFigures 3 and 4, the position of the stator W of the motor is reversedfrom the position shown in the first described form of this invention.In other words, the coll 23' is positioned in the forward end of thecasing adjacent the revoluble brush W and the pole pieces 23' extendrearwardly from opposite ends of the coil. In other m s ts, the generalarrangement and operation or the parts is the same m described inconnection with the'embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 3 and2.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a vacuum cleaner, a substantially flat housing having a downwardlyopening nozzle and a discharge opening spaced horizontally'irom andarranged at substantially the same elevation as said nozzle, an electricmotor having an armature in the form of a ring mounted in the housingfor rotation about a substantially vertical axis, an air passagewaybetween said nozzle and one end of said ring, an air passageway betweenthe other end of said ring and said discharge opening and meansrevoluble with the armature for circulating air through said passagewaysand axially through the armature from the nozzle to the dischargeopening in the housing.

2. In a vacuum cleaner, a substantially fiat housing having a downwardlyopening nozzle and having a discharge opening, an electric motor havingan armature in the form of a ring supported in the housing for rotationin a substantially horizontal plane, means in the housing I establishingcommunication between the nozzle and one side of the ring, fan bladeshaving portions extending axially through the ring from the sideaforesaid thereof to draw air into the ring from the nozzle and havingportions profrom one side thereof and having annannular portionconcentric with the hub, an inner annular wall for the fan having aportion extending into the ring from the side aforesaid of the ring andhaving a hub telescopically receiving the hub of the ring and securedthereto, blades connecting said walls and arranged to draw air axiallyjecting generally radially outwardly from the 3. In a vacuum cleaner, asubstantially flat housing having a downwardly opening nozzle and havinga discharge opening, an electric motor having an armature in the form ofa ring provided with a hub supported in the housing for through the ringfrom the side thereof opposite the side aforesaid, means establishingcommunication between the nozzle and second named side, and meancollecting the air discharged by the fan and conducting this air to theoutlet opening 1 in the housing.

5. In a vacuum cleaner, a substantially flat housing having an airpassageway terminating at one end in a downwardly opening nozzle andhaving a discharge opening at the other end thereof, an electric motorhaving an armature in the form of a ring mounted in the housing forrotation about a substantially vertical axis, means revoluble with thearmature and arranged in said passageway for drawing air axially throughthe armature from the nozzle to the discharge opening in the housing, abrush rotatably supported in the nozzle, and means 0per-' ativelyconnecting the armature to said brush for rotating the same, the highestpoint of said motor,'air moving means and brush being arranged atsubstantially the same elevation.

6. In a vacuum cleaner, la 'substantially flat housing having an airpassageway terminating at one end in a downwardly opening nozzle andhavingra discharge opening at the other end thereof, an electric motorhaving an armature in the form of a ring provided with a hub supportedin the housing for rotation about a vertical rotation about a verticalaxis, armature windings 1 extending generally radially outwardly fromthe hub to-discharge the air out oi the opposite side of the ring, andmeans forming a space around the outer ends oithe blades for receivingthe air discharged by the blades and communicating with the dischargedopening in saidhousing.

4. In a vacuum cleaner, asubstantially fiat housing having a downwardlyopening nozzle and having a discharge opening, an electric motor havingan armature in the form of a ring provided with a hub supported in thehousing for rotation about a vertical axis, a fan comprising an annularouter wall extending into the ring axis, fan blades extending betweenthe hub and ring and arranged in said passageway so as to draw airthrough the ring from the nozzle to the discharge opening in saidhousing, a brush rotatably supported in the nozzle, and meansoperatively connecting the hub of the ring to the brush for rotating thelatter.

'7. In a vacuum cleaner, a flat housing having an air'passagewayterminating at one end in a downwardly open nozzle and having adischarge opening at the other end thereof, an electric motor having anarmature in the iormof a ring provided with a hub supported in thehousing for rotation about a vertical axis, fan blades extending betweensaid hub and said ring and arranged in said passageway so as to move airthrough the ring irom the nozzle to the discharge opening, a brushrotatably supported in said nozzle and operatively connected to the hubof the ring so as-to be driven therewith, said motor, fan blades andbrush being arranged in the same general plane.

WIILIAM B. OAKS.

